Video interview of Shungaboy talking about nudism and body acceptance as practiced at Men’s Naked Drawing Group NY.
Sing Tao Daily visited a session of Men’s Naked Drawing on April 1, 2017. Sing Tao Daily, the longest-standing newspaper in Hong Kong since 1938, is internationally recognized as one of the world’s most widely-read Chinese dailies. The reporter was Mantai Chow. Before the session, Mantai interviewed Shungaboy.
VIDEO: (transcript below)
Transcript of video (Shungaboy speaking):
(In) traditional drawing groups, the model is naked. In my group, the artists are also naked. We’re on an equal footing, which fosters a greater camaraderie and openness that you don’t have in traditional groups. Welcome to Men’s Naked Drawing, I’m Shungaboy. We take turns, so everyone has the opportunity to experience being a model. In our society today, everyone is very body-conscious and no one thinks that “I can be a model,” but in our group, anyone can be a model. Being a model is also very liberating; it helps with you body acceptance. One of our core values is that we’re not judgmental. Your weight doesn’t matter, how fit you are doesn’t matter, and the size of your penis doesn’t matter. I formed the group in December of 2014; initially I started out with maybe a dozen guys; right now we have over 650 members. My being an Asian-American gay man in America has been a big factor in my life. The thing that you feel most discriminated against is your most core identity. Becoming a nudist for me was initially a challenge, to break out of my shell, but I have found that by taking that step and doing it I’ve gotten a lot more self-confidence, (has been) emotionally very helpful as an Asian-American gay man.